Chapter 13 Configuration Management

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Chapter 13Configuration Management
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Outline of the Lecture

• Purpose of Software Configuration Management
  (SCM)
• Motivation Why software configuration
  management?
• Definition What is software configuration
  management?
• Activities and roles in software configuration
  management
• Some Terminology
• Configuration Item, Baseline, SCM Directory,
  Version, Revision Release.
• Software Configuration Management Activities
• Promotion Management, Release Management, Change
  Management
• Outline of a Software Configuration Management
  Plans
• Standards (Example IEEE 828-1990)
• Basic elements of IEEE 828-1990
• Configuration Management Tools

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Why Software Configuration Management ?

• The problem
• Multiple people have to work on software that is
  changing
• More than one version of the software has to be
  supported
• Released systems
• Custom configured systems (different
  functionality)
• System(s) under development
• Software must run on different machines and
  operating systems
• Need for coordination
• Software Configuration Management
• manages evolving software systems
• controls the costs involved in making changes to
  a system

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What is Software Configuration Management?

• Definition
• A set of management disciplines within the
  software engineering process to develop a
  baseline.
• Description
• Software Configuration Management encompasses the
  disciplines and techniques of initiating,
  evaluating and controlling change to software
  products during and after the software
  engineering process.
• Standards (approved by ANSI)
• IEEE 828 Software Configuration Management Plans
• IEEE 1042 Guide to Software Configuration
  Management

Forward Definition!
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Software Configuration Management is a Project
Function

• SCM is a Project Function (as defined in the
  SPMP) with the goal to make technical and
  managerial activities more effective.
• Software Configuration Management can be
  administered in several ways
• A single software configuration management team
  for the whole organization
• A separate configuration management team for each
  project
• Software Configuration Management distributed
  among the project members
• Mixture of all of the above

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Configuration Management Activities

• Software Configuration Management Activities
• Configuration item identification
• Promotion management
• Release management
• Branch management
• Variant management
• Change management
• No fixed rules
• Activities are usually performed in different
  ways (formally, informally) depending on the
  project type and life-cycle phase (research,
  development, maintenance).

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Configuration Management Activities (continued)

• Configuration item identification
• modeling of the system as a set of evolving
  components
• Promotion management
• is the creation of versions for other developers
• Release management
• is the creation of versions for the clients and
  users
• Change management
• is the handling, approval and tracking of change
  requests
• Branch management
• is the management of concurrent development
• Variant management
• is the management of versions intended to coexist

This lecture
Reading
8
Configuration Management Roles

• Configuration Manager
• Responsible for identifying configuration items.
  The configuration manager can also be responsible
  for defining the procedures for creating
  promotions and releases
• Change control board member
• Responsible for approving or rejecting change
  requests
• Developer
• Creates promotions triggered by change requests
  or the normal activities of development. The
  developer checks in changes and resolves
  conflicts
• Auditor
• Responsible for the selection and evaluation of
  promotions for release and for ensuring the
  consistency and completeness of this release

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Terminology

• We will define the following terms
• Configuration Item
• Baseline
• SCM Directories
• Version
• Revision
• Release
• The definition of the terms follows the IEEE
  standard.
• Different configuration management systems may
  use different terms.
• Example CVS configuration management system
  used in our projects uses terms differing from
  the IEEE standard.

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Terminology Configuration Item

• An aggregation of hardware, software, or
  both, that is designated for configuration
  management and treated as a single entity in the
  configuration management process.
• Software configuration items are not only program
  code segments but all type of documents according
  to development, e.g
• all type of code files
• drivers for tests
• analysis or design documents
• user or developer manuals
• system configurations (e.g. version of compiler
  used)
• In some systems, not only software but also
  hardware configuration items (CPUs, bus speed
  frequencies) exist!

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Tasks for the Configuration Managers
Define configuration items
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Finding Configuration Items

• Large projects typically produce thousands of
  entities (files, documents, data ...) which must
  be uniquely identified.
• Any entity managed in the software engineering
  process can potentially be brought under
  configuration management control
• But not every entity needs to be under
  configuration management control all the time.
• Two Issues
• What Selection of Configuration Items
• What should be under configuration control?
• When When do you start to place entities under
  configuration control?
• Conflict for the Project Manager
• Starting with CIs too early introduces too much
  bureaucracy
• Starting with CIs too late introduces chaos

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Finding Configuration Items (continued)

• Some items must be maintained for the lifetime of
  the software. This includes also the phase, when
  the software is no longer developed but still in
  use perhaps by industrial customers who are
  expecting proper support for lots of years.
• An entity naming scheme should be defined so
  that related documents have related names.
• Selecting the right configuration items is a
  skill that takes practice
• Very similar to object modeling
• Use techniques similar to object modeling for
  finding Cis!
• Find the CIs
• Find relationships between CIs

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Which of these Entities should be Configuration
Items?

• Problem Statement
• Software Project Management Plan (SPMP)
• Requirements Analysis Document (RAD)
• System Design Document (SDD)
• Project Agreement
• Object Design Document (ODD)
• Dynamic Model
• Object model
• Functional Model
• Unit tests
• Integration test strategy

• Source code
• API Specification
• Input data and data bases
• Test plan
• Test data
• Support software (part of the product)
• Support software (not part of the product)
• User manual
• Administrator manual

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Possible Selection of Configuration Items

• Problem Statement
• Software Project Management Plan (SPMP)
• Requirements Analysis Document (RAD)
• System Design Document (SDD)
• Project Agreement
• Object Design Document (ODD)
• Dynamic Model
• Object model
• Functional Model
• Unit tests
• Integration test strategy

• Source code
• API Specification
• Input data and data bases
• Test plan
• Test data
• Support software (part of the product)
• Support software (not part of the product)
• User manual
• Administrator manual

Once the Configuration Items are selected, they
are usually organized in a tree
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Configuration Item Tree (Example)
The project CI
Models
Subsystems
Documents
Object Model
Dynamic Model
RAD
ODD
. . . .
Database
User Interface
. . . .
. . . .
Code
Data
Unit Test
. . . .
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Terminology Version

• The initial release or re-release of a
  configuration item associated with a complete
  compilation or recompilation of the item.
  Different versions have different functionality.

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Terminology Baseline

• A specification or product that has been
  formally reviewed and agreed to by responsible
  management, that thereafter serves as the basis
  for further development, and can be changed only
  through formal change control procedures.
• Examples
• Baseline A All the API have completely been
  defined the bodies of the methods are empty.
• Baseline B All data access methods are
  implemented and tested.
• Baseline C The GUI is implemented.

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More on Baselines

• As systems are developed, a series of baselines
  is developed, usually after a review (analysis
  review, design review, code review, system
  testing, client acceptance, ...)
• Developmental baseline (RAD, SDD, Integration
  Test, ...)
• Goal Coordinate engineering activities.
• Functional baseline (first prototype, alpha
  release, beta release)
• Goal Get first customer experiences with
  functional system.
• Product baseline (product)
• Goal Coordinate sales and customer support.
• Many naming scheme for baselines exist (1.0,
  6.01a, ...)
• A 3 digit scheme is quite common

7.5.5
Release (Customer)
Version (Developer)
Revision (Developer)
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Baselines in SCM
Baseline A (developmental)
Baseline B (functional, first prototype)
Baseline C (functional, beta test)
Official Release
How do we manage changes in the baselines?
Time
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Change management

• Change management is the handling of change
  requests
• A change request leads to the creation of a new
  release
• General change process
• The change is requested (this can be done by
  anyone including users and developers)
• The change request is assessed against project
  goals
• Following the assessment, the change is accepted
  or rejected
• If it is accepted, the change is assigned to a
  developer and implemented
• The implemented change is audited.
• The complexity of the change management process
  varies with the project. Small projects can
  perform change requests informally and fast while
  complex projects require detailed change request
  forms and the official approval by one more
  managers.

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Controlling Changes

• Two types of controlling change
• Promotion The internal development state of a
  software is changed.
• Release A changed software system is made
  visible outside the development organization.
• Approaches for controlling change (Change Policy)
• Informal (good for research type environments and
  promotions)
• Formal approach (good for externally developed
  CIs and for releases)

Promote Policy
Release Policy
User
Master Directory
Software Repository
Programmer
Promotion
Release
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Terminology SCM Directories

• Programmers Directory (IEEE Dynamic Library)
• Library for holding newly created or modified
  software entities.
• The programmers workspace is controlled by the
  programmer only.
• Master Directory (IEEE Controlled Library)
• Manages the current baseline(s) and for
  controlling changes made to them.
• Entry is controlled, usually after verification.
• Changes must be authorized.
• Software Repository (IEEE Static Library)
• Archive for the various baselines released for
  general use.
• Copies of these baselines may be made available
  to requesting organizations.

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Standard SCM Directories

• Programmers Directory
• (IEEE Std Dynamic Library)
• Completely under control of one programmer.
• Master Directory
• (IEEE Std Controlled Library)
• Central directory of all promotions.
• Software Repository
• (IEEE Std Static Library)
• Externally released baselines.

Promotion
Central source code archive
Release
Foo95
Foo98
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Promotion and Release are Operations on CIs
. . . .
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Lets Create a Model for Configuration Management

• We just learned that promotions are stored in the
  master directory and releases are stored in the
  repository

Problem There can be many promotions and many
releases
Solution Use Multiplicity


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Lets Create a Model for Configuration Management

• Insight Promotions and Releases are both
  versions

Solution Use Inheritance

Promotion
Release

Repository
Master Directory
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Lets Create a Model for Configuration Management

• Problem A configuration item has many versions

Solution Create a 1-many association between
Configuration Item and Version

Promotion
Release

Repository
Master Directory
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Lets Create a Model for Configuration Management

• Problem Configuration items can themselves be
  grouped

Solution Use the composite design pattern
Controlled item
CM Aggregate
Configuration item

Promotion
Release

Repository
Master Directory
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Configuration Item Model (UML Class Diagram)
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Change Policies

• Whenever a promotion or a release is performed,
  one or more policies apply. The purpose of change
  policies is to guarantee that each version,
  revision or release (see next slide) conforms to
  commonly accepted criteria.
• Examples for change policies
• No developer is allowed to promote source
  code which cannot be compiled without errors and
  warnings.
• No baseline can be released without having
  been beta-tested by at least 500 external
  persons.

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Terminology Version vs. Revision vs. Release

• Version
• An initial release or re-release of a
  configuration item associated with a complete
  compilation or recompilation of the item.
  Different versions have different functionality.
• Revision
• Change to a version that corrects only errors in
  the design/code, but does not affect the
  documented functionality.
• Release
• The formal distribution of an approved version.

Question Is Windows98 a new version or a new
revision compared to Windows95 ?
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Tasks for the Configuration Managers
Define configuration items
Define promote /release policies
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Software Configuration Management Planning

• Software configuration management planning starts
  during the early phases of a project.
• The outcome of the SCM planning phase is the
• Software Configuration Management Plan (SCMP)
• which might be extended or revised during the
  rest of the project.
• The SCMP can either follow a public standard like
  the IEEE 828, or an internal (e.g. company
  specific) standard.

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The Software Configuration Management Plan

• Defines the types of documents to be managed and
  a document naming scheme.
• Defines who takes responsibility for the CM
  procedures and creation of baselines.
• Defines policies for change control and version
  management.
• Describes the tools which should be used to
  assist the CM process and any limitations on
  their use.
• Defines the configuration management database
  used to record configuration information.

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Outline of a Software Configuration Management
Plan (SCMP, IEEE 828-1990)

• 1. Introduction
• Describes purpose, scope of application, key
  terms and references
• 2. Management (WHO?)
• Identifies the responsibilities and authorities
  for accomplishing the planned configuration
  management activities
• 3. Activities (WHAT?)
• Identifies the activities to be performed in
  applying to the project.

• 4. Schedule (WHEN?)
• Establishes the sequence and coordination of the
  SCM activities with project mile stones.
• 5. Resources (HOW?)
• Identifies tools and techniques required for the
  implementation of the SCMP
• 6. Maintenance
• Identifies activities and responsibilities on how
  the SCMP will be kept current during the
  life-cycle of the project.

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SCMP Section 1 Introduction

• 1.1 Simplified overview of the configuration
  management activities.
• 1.2 Scope
• Overview description of the project
• Identification of the CI(s) to which software
  configuration management will be applied.
• 1.3 Identification of other software to be
  included as part of the SCMP (support software
  and test software)
• 1.4 Relationship of SCM to hardware of system
  configuration management activities
• 1.5 Degree of formality and depth of control for
  applying SCM to project.
• 1.6 Limitations and time constraints for applying
  SCM to this project
• 1.7 Assumptions that might have an impact on the
  cost, schedule and ability to perform defined SCM
  activities.

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SCMP Section 2 Management

• 2.1 Organization
• Organizational context (technical and managerial)
  within which the SCM activities are implemented.
  Identifies
• All organizational units (client, developers,
  managers) that participate in an SCM activity
• Functional roles of these people within the
  project
• Relationship between organizational units
• 2.2. Responsibilities
• For each SCM activity list the name or job title
  to perform this activity
• For each board performing SCM activities, list
• purpose and objectives
• membership and affiliations
• period of effectivity, scope of authority
• operational procedures
• 3. Applicable Policies
• External constraints placed on the SCMP

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SCMP Section 3 Activities

• 3.1 Configuration Identification
• 3.2 Configuration Control
• 3.3 Configuration Status Accounting
• 3.4 Configuration Audits and Reviews
• 3.5 Interface Control

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3.2 Configuration Control

• Defines the following steps
• 3.2.1 How to identify the need for a change
  (layout of change request form)
• 3.2.2 Analysis and evaluation of a change request
• 3.2.3 Approval or disapproval of a request
• 3.2.4 Verification, implementation and release of
  a change

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3.2.1 Change Request

• Specifies the procedures for requesting a change
  to a baselined CI and the information to be
  documented
• Name(s) and version(s) of the CI(s) where the
  problem appears
• Originators name and address
• Date of request
• Indication of urgency
• The need for the change
• Description of the requested change

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3.2.2 Evaluation of a Change

• Specifies the analysis required to determine the
  impact of proposed changes and the procedure for
  reviewing the results of the analysis.

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3.2.3 Change Approval or Disapproval

• This section of the SCMP describes the
  organiztion of the configuration control board
  (CCB).
• Configuration Control Board (CCB)
• Can be an individual or a group.
• Multiple levels of CCBs are also possible,
  depending on the complexity of the project
• Multiple levels of CCBs may be specified.
• In small development efforts one CCB level is
  sufficient.
• This section of the SCMP also indicates the level
  of authority of the CCB and its responsibility.
• In particular, the SCMP must specify when the
  CCB is invoked.

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3.2.4 Implementing Change

• This section of the SCMP specifies the activities
  for verifying and implementing an approved
  change.
• A completed change request must contain the
  following information
• The original change request(s)
• The names and versions of the affected
  configuration items
• Verification date and responsible party
• Identifier of the new version
• Release or installation date and responsible
  party
• This section must also specify activities for
• Archiving completed change requests
• Planning and control of releases
• How to coordinate multiple changes
• How to add new CIs to the configuration
• How to deliver a new baseline

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3.3 Configuration Status Accounting

• This section of the SCMP must contain the
  following sections
• What elements are to be tracked and reported for
  baselines and changes?
• What types of status accounting reports are to be
  generated? What is their frequency?
• How is information to be collected, stored and
  reported?
• How is access to the configuration management
  status data controlled?

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3.4 Configuration Audits and Reviews

• This section of the SCMP identifies audits and
  reviews for the project.
• An audit determines for each Configuration Item
  if it has the required physical and functional
  characteristics.
• A review is a management tool for establishing a
  baseline.
• For each audit or review the plan has to define
• Objective
• The Configuration Items under review
• The schedule for the review
• Procedures for conducting the review
• Participants by job title
• Required documentation
• Procedure for recording deficiencies and how to
  correct them
• Approval criteria

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Tasks for the Configuration Managers (Summary)
Define configuration items
Define promote /release policies
Define activities and responsibilities
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Form of an SCMP

• Form
• The SCMP can be a separate document or a section
  embedded in another document, for example in the
  SPMP, titled Software Configuration Management
  Plan.
• Minimum information
• 6 Sections Introduction, Management, Activities,
  Schedules, Resources and Plan Maintenance
• Consistency Criteria (to be used at a SCMP review
  meeting)
• All activities defined in the SCMP (Section 3.1
  to 3.6) are assigned to an organizational unit or
  person.
• All identified Configuration items (Section 2.1)
  have defined processes for baseline establishment
  and change control (Section 3.2)
• All activities are associated with resources
  (section 5) to accomplish the activities.
• Such a SCMP can include the following sentence
• This SCM Plan conforms with the requirements of
  IEEE Std 828-1990.

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Tailoring the SCMP

• The IEEE standard allows quite a bit flexibility
  for preparing an SCMP.
• To conform to the rest of the project, the SCMP
  may be
• tailored upward
• to add information
• to use a specific format
• tailored downward
• Some SCMP components might not apply to a
  particular project.
• Instead of omitting the associated section,
  mention its applicability.
• Information that has not been decided on at the
  time the SCMP is approved should be marked as to
  be determined.

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Conformance to the IEEE Standard 828-1990

• Presentation format Minimum information
• A separate document or a section embedded in
  another document titled Software Configuration
  Management Plan.
• 6 Sections Introduction, Management, Activities,
  Schedules, Resources and Plan Maintenance
• Consistency Criteria
• All activities defined in the SCMP (Section 3.1
  to 3.6) are assigned to an organizational unit or
  person and they are associated with resources to
  accomplish the activities.
• All Configuration items identified in Section 2.1
  have defined processes for baseline establishment
  and change control (Section 3.2) .
• If the above criteria are met, the SCMP can
  include the following sentence
• This SCMP conforms with the requirements of IEEE
  Std 828-1990.
• Note The consistency criteria can also be used
  at a SCMP review meeting

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Example SCM Plans (from the Guide IEEE 1042.1990)
ARENA or TRAMP Concept. Prototype, Small,
On-line, Short, Informal
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Tools for Software Configuration Management

• Software configuration management is normally
  supported by tools with different functionality.
• Examples
• RCS
• very old but still in use only version control
  system
• CVS (Concurrent Version Control)
• based on RCS, allows concurrent working without
  locking
• http//www.cvshome.org/
• CVSWeb Web Frontend to CVS
• Perforce
• Repository server keeps track of developers
  activities
• http//www.perforce.com
• ClearCase
• Multiple servers, process modeling, policy check
  mechanisms
• http//www.rational.com/products/clearcase/

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Tasks for the Configuration Managers
SCMP following the IEEE 828-1990 standard
Define configuration items
Define promote /release policies
Define activities and responsibilities
Set up configuration management system
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References

• Readings used for this lecture
• Bruegge-Dutoit Chapter 13 Configuration
  Management
• IEEE Std 828 Software Configuration Management
• IEEE Std 1042 Guide to Configuration
  Management Plan (SCMP)
• Additional References
• CVS
• Homepage http//www.cvshome.org/
• Online Documentation http//www.cvshome.org/docs/
  manual/cvs.html
• Jikes Open Source Java Compiler maintained with
  CVS
• Source tree (read only) http//sourcery.org/jikes
  /anoncvs.html
• Jikes project portal http//sourcery.org/jikes
• CVSWEB example
• http//stud.fh-heilbronn.de/zeller/cgi/cvsweb.cgi
  /

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Summary

• Software Configuration Management Important part
  of project management to manage evolving software
  systems and coordinate changes to them.
• Software Configuration Management consists of
  several activities
• Promotion and Release management (Covered today)
• Branch, Variant and Change Management
  (Bruegge-Dutoit)
• Public standard for SCM plans IEEE 828.
• The standard can be tailored to a particular
  project
• Large projects need detailed plans to be
  successful
• Small projects should not be burdened with the
  bureaucracy of detailed SCM plans
• SCM should be supported by tools. These range
  from
• Simple version storage tools
• Sophisticated systems with automated procedures
  for policy checks and support for the creation of
  SCM documents.